


The Mockingjay and the Skylark

by Sir_Thopas



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Victor, F/F, For Want of a Nail, Haymitch Abernathy in the 75th Hunger Games
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-15 01:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13020024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Thopas/pseuds/Sir_Thopas
Summary: On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be taken from those who have already survived a Reaping.It comes as a relief to know that there will at least be one less tribute this year. District 12 has only one surviving victor. Rue doesn't understand President Snow's careful choice of words until later, when she's on a train barreling towards the Capitol, back into the Games. She watches the recap in her cabin, sees Haymitch Abernathy step up when his name is called, and then her heart stops because there is Katniss's sister standing beside him. "Those who have already survived a Reaping." It was because of Katniss that Primrose survived her reaping, and Katniss who sacrificed herself so that Rue could live. What will either of them do now without her?





	1. Chapter 1

A misstep. The stretch of his right leg is not as long as it should be, slightly lower and to the left as he scrambles through the trees. His toes do not dig into the dirt, but slide on a patch of wet leaves. He slips onto one knee. The little creature continues to bleat pitifully. He can see his snare, the girl trapped beneath the heavy net, Number 12 cutting at the ropes. He can still make it, he can still-- 

They're gone, 12's hand holding tightly onto 11's as they disappear into a sea of leaves. Marvel throws his spear anyway, watches it impale a tree where 12's head had been only seconds before.

* * *

Katniss curls around Rue, humming very softly into her hair as she rubs her hand over her shoulder. She can feel Rue staring at her with those large, owl-like eyes. They crack open her heart and see all her secret emotions, the things she tries to hide from even herself. Although Katniss makes all the same shushing noises that she gives Prim when her little sister is sad or scared or heartbroken, she knows she's only comforting herself. Rue is fine; worried for Katniss, maybe, but fine. She has no idea how close she really came to dying. How close Katniss came to losing her. Rue cuddles up beside her, and although Katniss can't see her face she knows those eyes never stop watching her. 

They jump when they hear the sound of the cannon, nearly falling out of their tree in surprise. Rue disentangles herself from Katniss's embrace and carefully peeks through the leaves. 

Katniss remains leaning against the trunk, unable to see anything except the way the sky lights up, turning the dark leaves surrounding her a bright green. Rue sucks in a breath. 

"What? What's wrong? Who is it?" 

Rue looks back at her, her eyes dark and sad. The light shines all around her hair, crowning her in a halo of dew and neon colors. She hesitates, biting her lip. "That boy. The one from your district." 

Peeta. 

Katniss tries to swallow, but there's a lump in her throat. She wonders wildly if she's going to choke for a moment, her heart spiking in her chest. Peeta is dead. Was it fast? Did he feel any pain? What is she supposed to do now? She's one half of a pair of star-crossed lovers. She didn't know Peeta. He was a boy who joined the Careers, he was a boy who saved her, he was a boy who ignored her for years and then announced his love for her on television. He was a boy who gave her bread. She should say something. Wail and gnash her teeth, beat her breast and cry out as only a widow can. It's what Haymitch would want. What the audience wants. But she can't. 

Katniss thinks about her mother. How she gave up on life when her father died. She had been so angry with her. She didn't understand how she could do that when she had two living children who needed her. They had loved her too, and it never felt like enough. Katniss still can't understand. 

When she looks at Rue, all she can see is Prim. Prim tangled in that net. Prim impaled on a Career's spear. Whatever Peeta was to her, whatever he could have been, it doesn't matter. The Capitol can't hurt him anymore. Rue still needs her. Whatever lovesick fantasy the audience has envisioned for her will have to wait. 

Katniss opens her arms and Rue crawls into them, curling her head beneath armpit. "Was it true?" She whispers. "Did you really love him?" 

"Yes," she whispers back. It doesn't really feel like a lie. Not now, not when it doesn't matter. 

"What will you do now?" 

Katniss doesn't say anything. She closes her eyes and lets her cheek rest on Rue's hair. The answer comes swiftly to her mind. All those times she's agonized over the decision, what she would do if it came down to her and Rue. Everything is so simple now. She'll do what she's always done. Take care of the ones she loves.

* * *

Katniss lets her arrow fly and Cato finally grows quiet. The mutts slink off as the night rapidly switches to day with just a flick of the Gamemakers' controls. Katniss doesn't move from where she stands at the lip of the Cornucopia. Her back is rigid, her head fixed. Rue can't see what she's looking at, but she thinks it might be the lake. The moment stretches on. 

In the quiet minutes after the cannon fires, it finally occurs to Rue what must be obvious to Katniss: the Gamemakers need one more death. Her or the Girl on Fire. 

Rue rocks onto the balls of her feet, ready to leap from the Cornucopia and make a run for the safety of the trees. There's no way she can kill Katniss. Katniss is strong and fast. She would kill her in an instant, even if Rue had the guts to try it. The only hope Rue has is to outlast her. Outlast her, hah. Katniss can hunt. Katniss can climb trees and forage and make traps. She can do everything Rue can, and better. The realization that she was never going to win these games hits her hard in the stomach. She never even had a chance. 

Something shatters the silence and Rue nearly throws herself off the side of the Cornucopia, half-mad with fright. It takes her a few seconds to realize that Katniss has dropped her bow. The quiver is next and the arrows spill across the shiny surface, rolling across it until they tumble into the dirt. Katniss lifts her arms above her head, stretching, her joints popping as she spins around. There's a smile on her face, the same mischievous look she shot her when she told Rue about blowing up the Careers' food. "Come on, let's get out of here so the hovercraft can do its job." 

She slips down and starts walking, not bothering to look back. Rue feels a little put out that she didn't even bother to offer a helping hand. She's a lot shorter than Katniss! Her feet have farther to go before they reach the ground. _She's giving me the choice,_ Rue suddenly thinks. _She knows I'm afraid. She's giving me the choice to run or follow._

There is no choice, not really. Rue follows. 

When she catches up to Katniss, she finds her throwing rocks into the lake. Rue lingers a few feet away, rocking on her feet. The silence stretches between them. Rue wonders if Katniss is just as scared as she is. The thought almost makes her laugh. Nothing scares Katniss. 

Katniss turns and gives her another smile, flicks her wrist and sends the pebble in her hand skipping across the water. Rue can't help it. She shrieks with delight. "How did you do that? How? Show me!" And Katniss laughs. 

"My dad taught me when I was a kid. Here," she places a pebble in Rue's hand. "Hold it like this and throw it at an angle. Don't just lug it at the water." 

Katniss adjusts her arm and steps back, behind her elbow. Rue throws it with all her might and watches it as it immediately sinks to the bottom. Katniss laughs at her pout. "Don't give up! Try again!" 

Rue reaches down and grabs another rock. She gets another and another. She can do it. She knows she can. 

She gets in four tries before the cannon sounds. 

Understanding doesn't come swiftly. Rue turns around and sees Katniss lying on her back, the tall grass whipping around her still body. One arm is folded behind her head, like she's in the middle of a lazy Sunday nap. In her other hand there are berries and Rue thinks she'll pop one in her mouth, laugh, and tell her to keep at it. She'll sway her feet in time to the melody she sings, eating berries and watching Rue skip rocks. Katniss doesn't like to sing, but she'll do it if Rue asks and Rue desperately wants her to sing. 

"Katniss?" Rue whispers. It's the only word that manages to sneak past her lips before the hovercraft appears.

* * *

Someone is running their fingers through her hair and Rue smiles sleepily into her pillow. The heat from the sun is beaming down on her. It's late to be out hunting. Katniss must have let her in sleep in. 

Her eyes snap open and a garbled wail climbs up her throat. Seeder pulls her from her blankets and sets her on her lap, rocking her gently while Chaff watches from the doorway.

* * *

"As the youngest Victor in seventy-four years, how does it feel to make Hunger Games history?" Caesar Flickerman asks. 

Rue paints a smile on her face, but she can't stop from twisting the hem of her skirt between her fingers. "Everybody underestimated me because I'm only twelve and small for my age. But I knew I could do it. I knew from the very beginning." 

Caesar smiles winningly at her. "Well, I know at least one person who never underestimated you: Katniss Everdeen." 

Blood rushes to Rue's ears and she can't hear the audience, only a strange buzzing noise that fills the soundstage. Rue looks down at her hands and her smile becomes brittle. "Yes." 

It's not much of an answer, but Caesar is quick to pick up the ball. "I was surprised when she chose to ally with you and not the boy she _claimed_ to love. Why do you think she did that?" 

Rue turns her head to look at him. The answer is so obvious. How can he not know it? "Because I reminded her of her sister. I don't know if that means she loved me more than Peeta, but she did love me and she loved him. She just... she loved us both." 

The audience sighs. Rue can hear a few of them sniffle into their brightly painted silk handkerchiefs. Caesar nods. His face has grown somber. Rue thinks he wears it well. "And then, at the end, when you saw her lying there..." 

Rue tears her gaze away again and looks out at the audience. Her eyes search for Seeder's face but they land on Katniss's mentor instead. He's drinking openly out of a flask. District 11 at least has five Victors, including herself now. District 12 only has him. He's all alone. Rue feels like she's stolen something precious from him. It should be Katniss sitting here, not her. 

"I thought she was napping," Rue whispers and Caesar laughs like she's told the funniest joke in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

"Rue, it's almost lunch time. Mama says you have to get up now." 

Rue just flops onto her belly, digging her head purposefully beneath her pillow. Junie huffs out a breath, pokes her in the ribs a few times, before stomping her foot and screaming at the top of her lungs, "MAMA!" 

Rue grabs onto the edge of her blanket and twists, turning around and around until she's wrapped herself into a cocoon, warm and protected. She knows her mother won't do anything. 

She lets herself drift back to sleep, safe in this knowledge. 

Rue lets out a mighty shriek when a pair of hands dive underneath her and lift her up, blanket and all. She squirms, trying to wriggle free but she's trapped herself and the woman above her chuckles. Rue can barely make out Seeder's grinning face from between the folds of the blanket. "PUT ME DOWN NOW!" 

"Sorry, honey, but your public awaits." 

She's plopped onto a chair in the kitchen and Seeder tugs at the blanket until Rue can shimmy her arms out. Junie is sitting across from her, cheeks round with food and lips pulled into a smirk. Rue sticks her tongue out at her sister. The moment Seeder drops her into the kitchen, Rue's mother is up and flying around to the stove. "I made your favorite!" She says. She always makes Rue's favorite. 

Before she can even blink, there's a whole leg of groosling with potatoes and sweet rolls sitting in front of her. Her mother doesn't go back to her seat, though; she lingers by Rue's chair, her hand petting through her hair so softly like she's afraid Rue will shatter beneath her fingertips. At least her hands don't shake anymore. "Please, Seeder, sit down and have something to eat," she says without leaving Rue's side. "I've made more than enough." 

Rue rubs the sleep from her eyes and narrows her eyes at Junie. She's wearing her best dress, her hair carefully plaited and tied in silk ribbons. Lately, she's been having a hard time keeping track of the dates, but she's almost certain it's a school day. "Why aren't you in school? And why are you dressed like that?" Rue demands, taking a bite of her groosling. 

Junie preens. "I get to be in the picture!" 

"What picture?" 

"For your Victory Tour," Seeder explains as she pulls up the chair beside Rue's elbow, her plate heavy with food. "Your prep team will be here in an hour to get you ready. The Capitol wants pictures of you in your new home, your family, your talent--" 

Rue makes a face at that. "Do I have to? Can't you just tell them I'm sick or something?" 

Seeder gives her That Look. Rue can't really put into words what That Look is, except that her mother once used it on her years ago when Rue made some stupid joke about the Capitol. 

Before Seeder can say anything else, her brothers come running through the kitchen door. Lucky for Rue, the little brats had been blessed with the gift of good timing. Four screaming, fighting, laughing boys run circles around the table, shoving each other to reach the hot stove first where their lunch sits waiting. Lost in the rowdy confusion, Rue slips beneath the table and crawls on her hands and knees out the door. The moment her foot touches the porch step, she takes off running, through the Victor's Village toward the field that sits at the edge of the fence. Chaff is sitting on his front porch, drinking with Ash. He yells something at her as she runs past, but she can't make out the words and she can't stop. She launches herself at a magnolia tree, slinging herself up its branches until she's perched high up in her nest. 

Her heart is pounding and she doesn't know why. She didn't run that far. She didn't even break a sweat, but she can't calm the rising tumult of fear churning in her belly. 

"Shit, fuck--" 

Rue looks down between the twisting limbs and sees Chaff throwing one leg over a branch. He pulls himself up with his good arm and sits down, leaning against the trunk and already breathing hard. He looks up at her and smiles, waving his stump, "Wanna give me a hand here?" 

She can't help it. She smiles back. 

Rue picks her way down to him, settling against his side as they remain perched in their tree. "I don't want to smile for them anymore," Rue says. 

"I know," he answers. "Why do you think I drink? Smiling's easier when you're good and drunk." 

"Seeder won't let me have any." 

"Damn right she won't. And if I ever catch you with a bottle I'll show you how I won my Hunger Games." 

Rue lets out a grunt of frustration. "So how am I supposed to get through it?" 

"Think of something else. Think about your mother and your father, your sister and brothers." 

Rue scowls and kicks her feet. "It hurts to think about them. They're not the same since I came back." 

Chaff looks at her, a frown marring his face as he thinks. "Then think about Katniss. You've got to play the game, honey, or she would have thrown her life away for nothing." 

Rue whips her head around to glare at him, tears already stinging her eyes at her mere mention. "That's not fair." 

"The Capitol isn't fair. You understand, you can never leave that arena, right? You will _always_ be fighting for your life. It'll get easier in a few more years, once things die down a bit. But for now... just play along, okay?" 

"What do you mean 'when things die down a bit'?" 

Chaff's smile isn't as quick this time. He falters for a second before answering, "Well, you're the newest face, honey. The Capitol wants to know everything about you. Who does your hair, what your favorite color is, if you have any dark and terrible secrets they could publish in salacious magazines." Chaff drops down onto the ground and holds his arms out to her. "Come on, let's get back so your prep team can turn you into a prize poodle." 

Rue throws herself into his arms, laughing as he catches and spins her around. He wobbles a bit, his good hand loosening on her as he tries to regain his balance through the buzz he's been nurturing since that morning. Rue lets herself fall and links her hand in his, half-guiding him back to the Village. 

The photographer comes and Rue preens and poses and curtsies with the best of them. She takes the bright, orange-dyed man to the front of her house to show him her talent Seeder has been working hard on. Rue hadn't really been too interested when she was told she needed to take up a pre-approved hobby now that she wasn't in school anymore. She was far too busy sleeping during the day and sitting on top of her roof with a slingshot at night to bother cultivating a talent. But like always, Seeder was there to pick up the slack. Her house in the Victor's Village is a two-story dog-trot. It is painted white with towering columns, a wide front porch, and a balcony. Her mother had left the doors open at either end to let the breeze through. Along the front porch, Seeder has planted roses which Rue now takes full credit for. She rattles off the speech Seeder gave her to memorize. 

"Ah! You even have primroses!" The man sighs as he pulls her to stand next to a pot of yellow flowers. "In honor of Katniss Everdeen, of course." The camera snaps her place, freezing the horrified expression onto her face. She forces a smile, even as her eyes grow shiny and everything becomes hard to look at. How dare... how _dare_ Seeder plant them without telling her. Rue is suddenly terrified of what will happen if the real Primrose Everdeen ever sees these pictures. She must hate her. She thinks about Junie, at how she would feel if Katniss had survived and she didn't. Junie would definitely hate Katniss. 

She brushes her hand against the soft petals and wonders at the life Primrose should have had with her sister, the true Victor of the 74th Hunger Games.


	3. Chapter 3

"No, no! Nothing dark or heavy! I want her to look like one of those ancient goddesses from the Old Days. She is Proserpina, returned from the Underworld to usher in the Spring!" Marius takes Rue by the hands and spins her around, letting the short chiffon tunic twirl lazily around her knees. The color around her neck is a pale pink that darkens into a deep fuchsia by the time it reaches her knees. On her feet are a pair of gold sandals and there are springs of lavender tangled artfully in her curls. The skirt puffs up around her, before floating gently down. She can't help it, she gives out a laugh of delight and twirls again while Marius gushes and chastises in equal turns as he attempts to rearrange her hair back into its carefully cultivated mess. 

Seeder sits demurely across from her, watching with sad eyes, the anger only half-hidden on her face. "You've really outdone yourself, Marius. But won't it be too cold for such a thin frock?" 

Marius cocks his head like a rooster. "Pish! She'll only be outside for ten-twenty minutes at most. I have a _vision_! Oh, what a sight she will be! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm almost excited to visit District 12. Their jaws will drop!" 

Her happiness immediately sours at the thought of District 12, curdling in her stomach like old milk. Katniss's mother and sister, that sad man who mentored her, they will all be there. They'll see her. Fear creeps through her veins and it takes everything she has not to crawl underneath the nearest table. 

It feels like only minutes have passed before the train is rolling to a stop. Rue is shaking when she steps out into the flashing sea of Capitol cameras. She shivers, partly from dread and partly from the cold. Back home, it was still warm enough to run around in short-sleeves; she had thought, since District 12 sat so close to her own 11, that it would be the same. But 12 looks nothing like home. Gone are the fields of red clay and in their place lies misty mountains covered in sprawling forests. Rue strides forward, willing her flesh to stop trembling. There are cameras and she is Proserpina. 

She is led through the snow to a stage in the middle of the village square. She knows Katniss's and Peeta's family will be standing at a place of honor, like the families of all the other dead tributes, but she keeps her eyes trained on the index cards Atia had forced her to read and re-read. The shaking returns and she rattles off the words hurriedly. Rue knows she's doing a bad job, she's bound to get another lecture from Seeder on how important presentation is, but she doesn't care. She wants to flee, back to the safety of the train. She wants to go home. 

Something shines in the light and it's enough to distract her. Her eyes tear away from the cards to catch the glint of gold. Her eyes fall onto a blonde girl wearing a mockingjay pin. Rue's breath catches in her throat. This is Primrose Everdeen. She gives Rue a slow smile and nods, as though she felt the need to comfort _her_ and it's so ridiculous, Primrose is the one who lost her sister, she should hate her. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't die for her," Rue blurts out without meaning to and Primrose frowns, shakes her head. She can see her mouth out only one word: _No_ , but Rue can't stop the words tumbling out from between her lips. "It should be Katniss standing here instead of me, but she wanted me to win and... I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. She always seemed so cold during training, like a Career. I knew she was going to win. But her love was deeper than that." Primrose stares at Rue, her expression unreadable. The woman who stands next to her has her face buried in her hands and Rue knows she's crying. She turns away to look at the Mellarks, Peeta's father and mother and two older brothers. "I didn't know Peeta, but I know what he did. They were alike, him and Katniss. They both chose the people they loved over playing the Game." 

Her words go off like a bomb. What looks to be District 12's entire senior class steps forward as one, three fingers raised in salute. She's pulled from the stage before she can react and suddenly Seeder is there, bundling her inside the Justice Building, rubbing her hands over Rue's frozen arms as she makes her stand in front of the heater. "Did you see them?" Rue asks between chattering teeth. "Did you see?" 

Seeder gives her That Look again. "Yes, yes, come on, you must hungry. There's a feast in your honor." 

The meal is simple compared to the other districts. It reminds her of home-cooked meals in 11, and the smells warm her in a way that the heater can't touch. She pulls away from Seeder's fussing to grab a plate. She piles on it sweet potatoes and cornbread, greens with pork fat. She's about to make a grab for the turkey when she sees him. Her hand takes a life of its own and instead of the leg she had wanted, it moves to the left and snatches a carving knife from the table, burying it in the folds of her skirt as quick as you please. It takes a moment for her brain to catch up, her eyes riveted to the dead man in front of her. And he _is_ dead, he must be. He's propped up, half-hidden behind a pillar, completely motionless. Why hasn't anyone doing anything? The rich Capitol guests and Peacekeepers and District 12 somebodies with more than two coins to rub together continue to just walk past him, like he was invisible. 

Chaff is suddenly at her elbow, a half-laugh, half-grunt coming out of his mouth. "The party hasn't even started yet and Haymitch is already three sheets to the wind." Rue cocks her head and realizes, yes, beneath the curtain of long, dirty hair that half-obscures his face, the dead man is Katniss's mentor. Chaff leans down to whisper into her ear. "And, honey? Put the knife back." 

Rue does what he says, keeping an eye on him as he staggers to where Haymitch is lying. Chaff is one to talk; it looks like he was the first to sample some of District 12's liquor. Chaff reaches down and hauls Haymitch to his feet with only his one good hand. Almost immediately Haymitch's eyes fly open and there's a knife singing through the air. Chaff doesn't even have to dodge, really. The man couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Instead, Chaff just swings him around, laughing, as Haymitch teeters on his feet. The man swears and growls and vomits and Chaff just continues to laugh, thumping him hard on the back that sends another wave of nausea. Together, the two stumble outside into the winter cold. 

Rue abandons her food on the table and sneaks out after them, hiding herself behind a column to watch. They collapse on the stairs leading up to the Justice Building, Chaff teasing him and Haymitch still swearing. And then they grow quiet, looking out across town at the mountains looming in the distance. "I'll never get another chance," Haymitch says quietly. 

"Sure you will. Twelve is full of crazy hillbillies like you. You'll get lucky." 

"No, I won't. You saw those kids. They've organized themselves into a movement, the dumb bastards. All those seventeen-year-olds you saw have taken a vow to volunteer at the next Reaping. A Katniss Promise, they call it, so no twelve-year-old kid will have to face down a boy who's almost a grown man ever again." 

"Well, there you go, you know the older they are the more likely they'll survive. Rue was... she was fluke. One I'm thankful for every day, but I had no hope..." 

Something sharp stabs into Rue's heart at his words. 

"That's just it, Chaff. None of them are even going to _try_. It's not about survival at all. It's about not playing the Game. They'll volunteer, but they won't fight. Part of their fucking promise. No more fighting." Haymitch shakes his head. "I give them five minutes in the arena before they break and run screaming into the bloodbath." 

Chaff looks at Haymitch quietly. "You never know. Your last girl killed four Careers." 

"And look where she is now. Six feet under like all the rest of them." Haymitch gives him a dark look. "And if the Games don't kill them, the Capitol will find some other way to break them. They won't tolerate this sort of resistance." 

The minutes drag on before Chaff finally speaks. "The same thing is happening in 11, but... there's hope now. Our friends want to make a move... You can join us." 

"'Friends'," Haymitch spits out the word. "You're the only real friend I've got. Have they named their price yet? Because there's always a price." 

Rue nearly shrieks when a hand clamps around her shoulder and steers her forcefully back into the Justice Building. Seeder doesn't look down at her, but keeps her head forward, a graceful smile painted across her lips. "You didn't hear anything," she whispers.


End file.
